The United Nations has high hopes on Thursday. Representatives from dozens of countries are meeting in Lebanon to learn more about what might be expected from an international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. The hope is that many of them will then produce concrete troop pledges so the international force can be deployed as quickly as possible. So far, though, many countries have been reluctant to contribute troops before knowing exactly what their mandate will be. Even France, which is expected to lead the UN force -- which will be attached to the existent force UNIFIL -- has been reluctant to formally offer troops without clear rules of engagement.

In Germany, though, the concern doesn't so much center on what the UN mandate will eventually look like. Instead, the government is having a difficult time deciding how to participate in the international force without really participating. Sending a police force to man the Lebanese-Syrian border has been discussed. The idea of a naval force has also been tossed around. Sending military engineers to provide technical support is also an idea. German dailies on Thursday urge their government to get on with it.

"It is inconceivable that the largest country in the European Union would refuse to contribute," the financial daily Handelsblatt declares in its front page editorial on Thursday. While many in Germany have been blaming Chancellor Angela Merkel for a lack of leadership on the issue, the editorial -- headlined "Bumbling Middle East Policy" -- finds a possible shift in Germany. Traditionally, the paper points out, Germany's Middle East policy has been defined by it's special relationship with Israel as well as its traditionally good relations with the Muslim nations Israel is surrounded by. This position has opened up Germany to charges of babying "Rogue States" but has also made the country a valued go-between. Is this changing in favor of an alignment with the US-Israeli position? Berlin not only was the driving force behind the EU's censure of Hamas as it took over the Palestinian Authority but it also blocked an official EU reprimand of Israel's vigorous response to Hezbollah. "It would be disastrous if Germany too would become seen as a partial in the Middle East conflict."

The Financial Times Deutschland sees another reason for the apparent waffling of the German government. Namely, Germany's leadership may be giving in to populism. After all, the longer the war between Israel and Hezbollah went on, the more German public opinion shifted against Israel, even as the German government was doing what it could to support Israel. Participation in a UN force possessed of a mandate to disarm Hezbollah might be a bit unpopular at home -- at least so goes the FTD logic. "In this context, the most important mission takes place at home. The government has to clearly articulate its position on the conflict and courageously defend it: Further aggression on the part of Hezbollah -- which dedicates itself to the destruction of Israel and which has cynically taken advantage of Lebanon in the pursuit of this goal -- cannot be allowed."

The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung goes a bit easier on the government, but agrees that a German contribution should be sent to Lebanon. "The UN," the paper argues, "is under pressure -- and the EU, and Germany, has to help." While the paper points out that Germany's troops would likely be out of harm's way -- the talk so far has indicated that a German force would patrol the Syria-Lebanon border -- it has no illusions about the danger of the mission in southern Lebanon or about what can be achieved. "Even with a robust mandate, the UN force won't be able to pacify the region by force…. It's very possible that Israel will soon resume executing Hezbollah leaders and that Hezbollah will respond with rockets into Israel." But sitting idly by is not an option. "There is only one thing more dangerous than sending this force -- and that is not sending it."

The conservative daily Die Welt isn't so sure. The paper argues that bringing peace to the region is a huge challenge -- and it's a challenge the United Nations may not be up to. "UNIFIL, the UN observer mission in southern Lebanon, was a problem from the very beginning, not a solution." Even if the UN has passed a resolution calling for the disarming of Hezbollah, the militia will not just meekly hand in its weapons. "Truce? Hardly. At best, a brief pause for breath." Germany's politicians, the paper complains, can't come up with a position on sending troops and the UN can't come up with a mandate. The clock is ticking.